Construction anyone?

 There is still lots to do, but we have also made some great strides!  Picture number 1 is one of our three new windows.  The windows were installed by a contractor friend but all the finish work was done by us.  We had to do some insulation work with spray foam and then we trimmed it out, made the reveal and the sill.  The large shelf is the top of what will be a built in book shelf.  I will be able to have a nice place to keep my cook books at some point in the future and the cats will have a lovely shelf where they can watch the birds outside and where Val can eat up off the floor so that Rocky does not bother her. There were a few things that excited us the most about doing this. First off, finish work is fun.  It's like putting on make up or decorating a cake.  It's the reward for all the sweat and heavy lifting that goes into the job before you get to that point. The other  thing that made this so cool was that our contractor friend intentionally left the finish work for us.  Not because he did not want to do it, but because he looked at the work we were doing and felt we were up to doing it.  He is really picky about how his jobs look so I honestly feel this was a very high compliment.

OK in  picture number two, aside from me apparently moving at the speed of light, you see that we have made another huge step forward. We have begun laying the subfloor in the bathroom.  It goes into the lower part of the kitchen, which meant that I also had to rip up the 7 layers of floor that were there. Yes, you read that right. 7. There were two old lino layers, an insulating layer of newspaper and 4 layers of tile and various subfloors.  My wife cut the flooring with our circular saw and then I pried it up so that we are down to the original boards.  This was important so that the subfloor could lay through the bathroom into the lower part of the kitchen. It was also important because we were trying to find (and did) a missing heating duct that I plan to repair and activate in the lower kitchen area under that pretty window. Lastly, it is important because we have ordered two new base cabinets for the kitchen and I want to have the subfloor done in that whole area before they are delivered.  Laying this section of the subfloor also lets us work on building the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen.  That wall will be what one wall of our shower rests on so it is beyond exciting.  

And this is what we found as the final layer when I was taking out the old floors and subfloors.  Newspapers, which my mother says my great grandfather put down as insulation back in the 30's. Specifically in July of 38.  It was kind of intriguing to me as in September of that same year there was a big hurricane here that took down all the trees on our property.

We have tons more to do. It is sometimes daunting how much remains yet to do.  It takes so much time, partly because I only have weekends.  My friend who helps with things I need to learn how to do (such as plumbing or electric) is not always available.  He too is doing a bathroom and also has lots of kids and things that take his time. I hope that this weekend we will make more strides but we also have to make a dump run to get rid of the debris we have accumulated from the last few weeks of work. We are having friends over for a BBQ on the fourth and I don't want anyone getting hurt on the construction detritus.

Property Manager At Last!

 Although I need to catch everyone up on the reno project that never ends  renovations, I have other exciting news to share.  (drum roll!) In two weeks I will be starting a new job.  I have worked at my present site since (wait for it) 1978.  Yup.  Not only am I old but that is a seriously long time to stay at one job location. To be fair, I have held three positions during my employ at this apartment community.  And the site was sold so I have worked for two management companies. But the gold ring--that position of property manager has eluded me.

I kind  of thought I had a lock on it about 2 or 3 years ago.  I filled in as interim for over a year while my company searched for a new manager. I lowered delinquent accounts, and reduced the turn over time on vacant units.  My regional manager wanted me to be promoted, but it did not happen.  The new manager is very nice and I was very helpful teaching her about the job and the site.

Around the holidays I saw an ad for a property manager in a nearby town.  I applied and had three interviews.  The hiring manager said they had to wait til they got two more applicants before their board would make a decision.  I understand wanting a number of candidates, but I am not sitting around like Sunday dinner leftovers for unknown weeks hoping you decide I am a good fit.  You either know I am or you don't.  A company whose decision making is THAT drawn out concerns me. There are decisions that require lots of thought and bids etc. There are also situations where decisions must be made expediently.  It left me wondering how they handle the latter type of situation and I just stopped following up because things did not feel right.

Spring came and I got a great review at my present job.  I was glad, and I got a nice raise and bonus.  I was pleased, but typically I get good reviews.  I work pretty hard at that.  Three days ago my desk phone lit up and it was our HR director.  They had a managership coming open in a nearby town (about 20 minutes from my home). She and our VP and our CFO felt I would be the perfect fit for the job and wanted to know if I would like to discuss this further.  I said absolutely and we set a teams meeting for the next day.  They l sat there, stunned.  The teams meeting was not really an interview.  It was an outline of plans for the site, explanations on staffing and goals for the property and a job offer.  Which I accepted.

I will start there in 2 weeks.  My present manager is really stressed because the list of all the things I do at our property is about 6 pages long typed. (I created that list for her when I first applied for the other job) The job description for my replacement does not include most of those things, so there are a lot of things she will need to take on or teach to two other office people, who have not done them in the past. (and who up to now have had no interest in learning them)  I feel badly for my manager, she is really really nice. But I am beyond excited to have this opportunity.  It comes at a time when my kids are older and I am comfortable being further away from them. KC will be a senior this year. (Not sure how that is possible but it is!) and Elisabeth is entering her first year of high school.  Before I accepted though, I ran this by the whole family and they were overwhelming in their agreement that I should accept the job.

The site that I will manage is nearly as large as the one I work at now and I will have a staff of 7.  There will be lots of new things to learn and new challenges.  I am really really excited!